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Ex-Cop Busted Again, This Time Claiming to Work in Anti-terrorism and Cybercrime

Martha Alemán just can’t quit Miami-Dade police.

Alemán, a cop until her sudden unexplained resignation last year, was arrested three weeks ago on charges of impersonating a police officer after pulling a man over at a gas station in Miami and flashing a Miami-Dade police badge.

On Monday, she did it again, police say — but her impersonation took a different turn. This time, police said Alemán, 46, took advantage of a troubled woman by offering her counseling while pretending to be a police officer with the Miami-Dade police department.

The woman, whom police identified as Sara Rapkin, 21, said she received counseling from Alemán’s sister. Rapkin’s mother called police on July 30 after seeing Alemán’s face on television two weeks ago — after her arrest for impersonating a county cop.

Alemán and Rapkin could not be reached Tuesday morning. State records show that Alemán remained jailed Monday morning at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Her bond was set at $15,000.

Alemán was hired by Miami-Dade police in 2001 and worked there until her resignation last year. Miami-Dade police wouldn’t comment on Alemán’s arrest or her sudden departure from the force.

According to the most recent arrest affidavit, Rapkin’s mother, concerned for her daughter’s well-being, spoke with her mechanic on July 21, and he said he knew Alemán, who he believed was a county cop who might help her daughter.

Rapkin’s mother, Adriana Rapkin, contacted Alemán and was told Alemán was going to bring her sister — a psychologist — to the meeting. Alemán and the sister met with the Rapkins on July 24, the report says.

The Rapkins said Alemán left them a business card indicating she was a Miami-Dade police officer. On July 27, Sara Rapkin had a $300 counseling session with Silvia Trana.

Reached by telephone on Tuesday, Trana confirmed that Alemán was her sister. She also said she was a licensed mental counselor who was referred to and met with Sara Rapkin.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. Unfortunately, I didn’t know she resigned until I got worried and looked it up,” Trana said. “I broke into tears. … I’m as clueless as you are.”

Police arrested Alemán on Monday. The arrest was Alemán’s second in three weeks for impersonating a county cop. On July 27, police said, Alemán followed a man into a gas station on Coral Way after they exchanged words while stuck in a traffic jam. She flashed a badge, the man said, and believing she was a police officer, he told her he did nothing wrong.

Miami cops soon showed up. Police charged her with impersonating a police officer and possession of a controlled substance after they said they found pills scattered in her car, in bottles that didn’t bear her name.

About author

Filming Cops was started in 2010 as a conglomerative blogging service documenting police abuse. The aim isn’t to demonize the natural concept of security provision as such, but to highlight specific cases of State-monopolized police brutality that are otherwise ignored by traditional media outlets.